MESSI A H.

A

SACRED ECLOGUE,

In Imitation of VIRGIL'S POLLI O.

E Nymphs of Solyma! begin the fong: To heav'nly themes fublimer ftrains belong. The moffy fountains, and the fylvan fhades, The dreams of Pindus and th' Aonian maids, Delight no more-O thou my voice inspire Who touch'd Ifaiah's hallow'd lips with fire! Rapt into future times, the Bard begun: A Virgin fhall conceive, A Virgin bear a Son!

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IMITATIONS.

VER. 8. A Virgin fhall conceive-All crimes fhall cease, etc.] VIRG. E. iv. 6.

Jam redit et Virgo, redeunt Saturnia regna;
Jam nova progenies cœlo demittitur alto.
Te duce, fi qua manent fceleris veftigia noftri,
Irrita perpetua folvent formidine terras-
Pacatumque reget patriis virtutibus orbem.

"Now the Virgin returns, now the kingdom of Saturn "returns, now a new progeny is fent down from high heaven. "By means of thee, whatever reliques of our crimes remain, "fhall be wiped away, and free the world from perpetual fears. "He shall govern the earth in peace, with the virtues of his

From a Jeffe's root behold a branch arise,

Whofe facred flow'r with fragrance fills the fkies:
Th' Ætherial fpirit o'er its leaves thall move,
And on its top defcends the mystic Dove.
Ye Heav'ns! from high the dewy nectar pour,
And in foft filence shed the kindly show'r!
The fick and weak the healing plant fhall aid, 15:
From storms a shelter, and from heat a shade.
All crimes shall cease, and ancient fraud fhall fail;
Returning Juftice lift aloft her fcale;

Peace o'er the world her olive wand extend,
And white-rob'd Innocence from heav'n defcend.
Swift fly the years, and rise th' expected morn! 21
Oh fpring to light, aufpicious Babe, be born!
See Nature haftes her earliest wreaths to bring,
With all the incense of the breathing spring;

IMITATIONS.

ISAIAH, Ch. vii. 14. "Behold a Virgin fhall conceive and "bear a Son.-Chap. ix. 6, 7. Unto us a Child is born, "unto us a Son is given; the Prince of Peace: of the increase "of his government, and of his peace, there fhall be no end; "Upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order " and to stablish it, with judgment, and with justice, for ever "and ever.

VER. 23. See Nature baftes, etc.]

VIRG. E. iv. † 18.

At tibi prima, puer, nullo munuscula cultu,
Errantes hederas paffim cum baccare tellus,

a Ifai, xi. I.

Ch. xlv. 8. Ch. xxv. 4. Ch. ix. 7.

e

See lofty Lebanon his head advance,
See nodding forefts on the mountains dance :
See fpicy clouds from lowly Saron rife,
And Carmel's flow'ry top perfumes the skies!
Hark! a glad voice the lonely defert chears;
Prepare the way! a God, a God appears:

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VER. 29. Hark! a glad Voice, etc.]
VIRG. E. iv. ✯ 46.

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IMITATIONS.

Mixtaque ridenti colocafia fundet acantho

Ipfa tibi blandos fundent cunabula flores.

"For thee, O Child, fhall the earth, without being tilled, "produce her early offerings; winding ivy, mixed with Baccar, "and Colocafia with smiling Acanthus, Thy cradle shall pour "forth pleafing flowers about thee.

ISAIAH, Ch. xxxv. † 1. “The wilderness and the folitary place fhall be glad, and the defert fhall rejoice and blossom as "the rofe." Ch. lx. 13. " The glory of Lebanon shall come 66 unto thee, the fir-tree, the pine-tree, and the box together, "to beautify the place of thy fanctuary.

Aggredere ô magnos, aderit jam tempus, honores,
Cara deûm foboles, magnum Jovis incrementum-
Ipfi lætitia voces ad fydera jactant

Intonfi montes, ipfæ jam carmina rupes,

Ipfa fonant arbufta, Deus, deus ille Menalca! E. v. 62. "Oh come and receive the mighty honours: the time draws nigh, O beloved offspring of the Gods, O great encrease of Jove! The uncultivated mountains send shouts of joy to the ftars, the very rocks fing in verse, the very shrubs cry out, A God, a God!

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A God, a God! the vocal hills reply,
The rocks proclaim th' approaching Deity.
Lo, earth receives him from the bending skies!
Sink down, ye mountains, and, ye valleys, rife;
With heads declin'd, ye cedars, homage pay; 35
Be fmooth, ye rocks; ye rapid floods, give way!
The Saviour comes! by ancient bards foretold :
Hear 5 him, ye deaf, and, all ye blind, behold!
He from thick films fhall purge the visual ray,
And on the fightlefs eye-ball pour the day:
"Tis he th' obftructed paths of found shall clear,
And bid new mufic charm th' unfolding ear:
The dumb fhall fing, the lame his crutch forego,
And leap exulting like the bounding roe.

No figh, no murmur the wide world shall hear, 45
From ev'ry face he wipes off ev'ry tear.

In hadamantine chains fhall Death be bound,
And Hell's grim tyrant feel th' eternal wound.

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IMITATIONS.

ISAIAH, Ch. xl. ✯ 3, 4. "The voice of him that cryeth in "the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord! make strait "in the defert a high way for our God! Every valley fhall be "exalted, and every mountain and hill fhall be made low, and “the crooked shall be made strait, and the rough places plain." Ch. iv. 23. "Break forth into finging, ye mountains! O "forest, and every tree therein! for the Lord hath redeemed

Ifrael.

Ch. xlii. 18. Ch. xxxv. 5, 6.

h Ch. xxv. +8.

As the good ifhepherds tends his fleecy care,
Seeks freshest pasture and the pureft air,
Explores the loft, the wand'ring sheep directs,
By day o'erfees them, and by night protects,
The tender lambs he raifes in his arms,
Feeds from his hand, and in his bofom warms;
Thus fhall mankind his guardian care engage,
The promis'd father of the future age.
No more fhall nation against nation rise,
Nor ardent warriors meet with hateful eyes,
Nor fields with gleaming fteel be cover'd o'er,
The brazen trumpets kindle rage no more;
But useless lances into scythes fhall bend,
And the broad faulchion in a plow-share end.
Then palaces fhall rife; the joyful m Son
Shall finish what his fhort-liv'd Sire begun ;
Their vines a fhadow to their race fhall yield, 65
And the fame hand that fow'd, fhall reap the field.
The swain in barren "deserts with furprize

See lilies fpring, and fudden verdure rise;

k Ch. ix. 6.

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11.

55

IMITATIONS.

VER. 67. The fwain in barren deferts] Virg. E. iv. y 28.
Molli paulatim flavefcet campus arista,

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Incultifque rubens pendebit fentibus uva,

Et dure quercus fudabunt rofcida mella.

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« The fields shall grow yellow with ripen'd ears, and the red grape fhall hang upon the wild brambles, and the hard oaks "fhall diftill honey like dew.

i Ch. xl.

1 Ch. ii. 4. m Ch. lxv.